The government’s Sentencing Bill, introduced in Parliament last week, would introduce a presumption that all prison leavers will be tagged on release, while those who break the rules could see their release date delayed.
The Bill, which implements the majority of David Gauke’s ‘Independent sentencing review’, creates a presumption to suspend short sentences of 12 months or less, unless exceptional circumstances exist, a court order has been breached or there is a significant risk of harm to an individual. These accounted for more than 49,000 adult prisoners (about 62%) last year.
Judges would be able to suspend sentences of up to three years in prison, and ban offenders from bars, pubs, clubs, football matches and other events, and impose restriction zones under more creative community sentencing.
Law Society vice president Mark Evans said: ‘The data shows that short prison sentences are ineffective at stopping re-offending.’
Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said the Bill ‘rightly seeks to expand the use of effective alternatives to custody, while reserving prison for more serious offences.
‘Some measures, however, require careful scrutiny. Earned release must not replicate existing inequalities, particularly for young adults and minority ethnic groups; electronic tagging should only be used where evidence shows it is effective’.
Bar chair Barbara Mills KC welcomed greater use of electronic tagging, more creative community sentencing and the proposals for earned progression, which ‘rightly encourage better behaviour while in custody, while punishing those who continue to flout the rules’.
The Bill also clips the wings of the Sentencing Council, requiring the approval of both the Lord Chancellor and Lady Chief Justice before definitive sentencing guidelines could be implemented.
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